Friday, February 19, 2010

Manatee County won't crown a state wrestling champion this season.Manatee's Alex Doran (135 pounds) and Stephen Cotton (140), and Southeast's Ludger Dennis (130), all dropped their quarterfinal matches during today's state tournament at The Lakeland Center.In Class 3A, Doran was pinned by Winter Spring's Eric O'Niel in 3:24, while Cotton lost to O'Niel's teammate, Matthew Nereim, in 37 seconds.In Class 1A, Denis lost 7-5 in overtime to Miami Florida Christian's Nick Alvarez.All three can still earn a medal - awarded to the top six finishers in each weight class - by way of the consolation bracket. The second round of consolation action begins after the conclusion of the quarterfinals.Also alive for medals in Class 2A are Palmetto's Donnell Reed (152) and Darius Brooks (285), who became the first Palmetto wrestlers to win state tournament matches.After the second round of consolations are done, wrestling resumes 9 a.m. Saturday.

About this blog

Prep Rally is all about high school sports in Manatee County. From baseball to basketball, softball to soccer, volleyball to track, swimming to wrestling and weightlifting, if they play it, you can read about it at Prep Rally.

The author, John Lembo, has covered prep sports for the Bradenton Herald since 2005.